Preseason...

[Ericdc]

I am glad they are not here yet

Basically a month out,dont want to miss the peak migration if too early

Especially since we moved our season back 6 days.


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[Rick]

Y'all go ahead and be glad, I'll go with "ambivalent" until we what their season brings.

[Ericdc]

I was not for the idea but I guess we will see what happens. I just think seasons should start on a Saturday.


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[Rick]

The good news weekenders being that it's just one day and not likely to happen again for some years, if ever.

[DComeaux]

I shall be in the marsh on Thursday evening, partaking in a few adult beverages and whatever sticks to the bottom of the pot.... I just might take off Thursday to go and put out the decoys.

[Rick]

Haven't had a jam-up teal season since I hunted Jarren's old turnaround spot, but am still looking forward to it like a kid for Christmas. Like to tell myself I'm going to come closer than ever to tolling everything that passes within hearing, though that, as my long gone friend Al used to say about the Pearly Gates, "remains to be seen..."

Gonna have a big time trying, regardless.

[DComeaux]

tolling everything that passes within hearing"

I've been told by several people who've hunted as guest where we are now, on separate occasions, that these guys don't call, and I don't ever remember seeing calls in their possession. Also, brushing seems not to be a priority, but yet, they seem to do pretty good.

The nutria will develop hearing loss around our blind, cause I plan on livening up the place.. I'll probably exhaust their roseau stash as well.

[DComeaux]

No doubt that place was great for teal. Missed our limit once out there in the two seasons we hunted it, and on that day it was storming rain and me and Johnny had the bright idea to bring out wives so we didn't stay very long lol.


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I know our first two seasons in that west blind were awesome. Heading out to Johnny's for a haystack before the sun broke the horizon.

[DComeaux]

No doubt that place was great for teal. Missed our limit once out there in the two seasons we hunted it, and on that day it was storming rain and me and Johnny had the bright idea to bring out wives so we didn't stay very long lol.


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I know our first two seasons in that west blind were awesome. Heading out to Johnny's for a haystack before the sun broke the horizon.

Phew that haystack gives me heartburn just thinking about it

Gots to down it with a chocolate milk.

[Rick]

tolling everything that passes within hearing"

I've been told by several people who've hunted as guest where we are now, on separate occasions, that these guys don't call, and I don't ever remember seeing calls in their possession. Also, brushing seems not to be a priority, but yet, they seem to do pretty good.

When you're in the right place...

Best September season I ever had was 488 sitting on buckets on a beat down levee kacking with my voice. And we hammered their little butts when I teal hunted our marsh's east blind with a big ol' open boat tied to the blind so I could race the gators to them.

[SpinnerMan]

Best September season I ever had was 488

That's a large reason I like read you alls posts.

I have a log entry for every critter I or anyone I hunted with killed for the last 13 season. The total is 721. In two weeks, you got more than half of that.

I'm always in awe. I honestly can't even imagine.

[Rick]

Those times are behind us. Didn't mention the 488 season was before spinners entered the picture, so you know it wasn't yesterday. Took two spinners and better calling to top 300 the last season I got to hunt the place Jarren once did, too. Things change, and you roll with it. Would really rather kill fewer in the marsh than more on ag land, anyway. Just a better feel to the hunt.

Am absolutely blessed and know it.

[SpinnerMan]

Those times are behind us. Didn't mention the 488 season was before spinners entered the picture, so you know it wasn't yesterday. Took two spinners and better calling to top 300 the last season I got to hunt the place Jarren once did, too. Things change, and you roll with it. Would really rather kill fewer in the marsh than more on ag land, anyway. Just a better feel to the hunt.

Am absolutely blessed and know it.

So it takes 5 weeks instead of 3 weeks to kill what took me 13 years

[Rick]

Rick - I too am blessed with a great hunting area - spoiled too and I like it

Tickles me to hear that area's finally gotten back to what it was before the storms. Bet those lean years made the recovery that much sweeter.

[aunt betty]

I was not for the idea but I guess we will see what happens. I just think seasons should start on a Saturday.


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When 60-day seasons got popular the southern Illinois guys had to make a decision. They had to choose when to have opening day. There was and is just one or two little conflicts.
Shotgun deer seasons are setup for weekenders and always have been.

Set up a Saturday duck opener that happens during shotgun deer season and there will be $$$ consequences so there is ALWAYS a Thursday waterfowl opener. For many years it's been a Thanksgiving opener for the boys down south.
Central zone usually opens just before Halloween. North zone is two weeks earlier.
Now we got a new south-central zone which is sort of dumb imo but there is still that
Thanksgiving conflict in the south zone because that's where all the deer are? Bullshit, the brute bucks are in the Illinois river "valley" or the Sangamon.

North zone opener Oct 21----> Saturday
Central --------------Oct 28----> Saturday
South-central-------Nov 11 ---> Saturday
SOUTH---------------Nov 23----> THURSDAY

Goofy southern Illinois people.

[Ericdc]

Can't serve 2 masters. I deer hunt a lot, but it's in the evenings after work. I don't deer hunt any mornings that duck season is open.


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[aunt betty]

Can't serve 2 masters. I deer hunt a lot, but it's in the evenings after work. I don't deer hunt any mornings that duck season is open.


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Try doing three. Waterfowl, upland, and deer. There will be even more conflicts when you start looking up what day pheasant and rabbit opens. I don't even try that anymore. Used to try and do both waterfowl and upland. It involved binoculars, interstate overpasses, and sneakin on ppl's borrow pits errr 'ponds'.

[SpinnerMan]

I was not for the idea but I guess we will see what happens. I just think seasons should start on a Saturday.


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When 60-day seasons got popular the southern Illinois guys had to make a decision. They had to choose when to have opening day. There was and is just one or two little conflicts.
Shotgun deer seasons are setup for weekenders and always have been.

Set up a Saturday duck opener that happens during shotgun deer season and there will be $$$ consequences so there is ALWAYS a Thursday waterfowl opener. For many years it's been a Thanksgiving opener for the boys down south.
Central zone usually opens just before Halloween. North zone is two weeks earlier.
Now we got a new south-central zone which is sort of dumb imo but there is still that
Thanksgiving conflict in the south zone because that's where all the deer are? ****, the brute bucks are in the Illinois river "valley" or the Sangamon.

North zone opener Oct 21----> Saturday
Central --------------Oct 28----> Saturday
South-central-------Nov 11 ---> Saturday
SOUTH---------------Nov 23----> THURSDAY

Goofy southern Illinois people.

Thursday November 23rd is Thanksgiving. Do they always start it on Thanksgiving?

First shotgun deer is the Friday - Sunday the week before Thanksgiving and the second shotgun is the Thursday - Sunday after Thanksgiving. Looks to me like south-central is the Saturday before first shotgun, but right in the peak of the rut for archery hunters and the south is Thanksgiving day. I don't know if that is how they do it every year.

Can't serve 2 masters. I deer hunt a lot, but it's in the evenings after work. I don't deer hunt any mornings that duck season is open.

Sure you can. Maybe not at the same time. Deer are master during the rut and ducks and geese the rest of the time.

My heart breaker. Missed him the year before. More like him and better in the area. For early November through first shotgun, they are the master and they are winning I'm starting to feel like Elmer Fudd after Bugs Bunny.

[Ericdc]

I was meaning you can't set seasons based on other seasons, set the best dates for each type of game.


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[SpinnerMan]

I was meaning you can't set seasons based on other seasons, set the best dates for each type of game.

I got that, but Illinois does seem to have done a pretty good job of that. And for most of the state, deer is now king. Duck used to be, but I think that has changed since the cooling lakes, resident geese, and no till farming short stop most of the Canada geese and a lot of the mallards.

I think the 4 zones with no split is far worse than 2 zones with a split. While opening day of duck season is a big deal, it's not like deer season where you are hunting nothing but locals. We have the early birds and the late birds. In the north zone a lot of the early birds are gone and those that rely upon them get short changed because they are gone and they get froze out for the late birds. I don't know the south, but I suspect it is very similar. I believe in LA with the splits, you start before much of IL and then are hunting for most of January. That's what we need with the first split shifted a month earlier up north and only two weekends and the second starting mid November up north and a little later in the south.

[Rick]

That buck would be the stud duck down here in the heel of our state.

[Ericdc]

Here's our set up, it's always the same structure basically and I'm very happy with it.


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[SpinnerMan]

That buck would be the stud duck down here in the heel of our state.

I knew you had a lot more ducks, but I didn't know they were bigger

He's a shooter up here for all but the most selective with premium areas. Never seen a deer that wasn't a shooter until after I got one in the freezer They got one in the area last year that someone saw pass through where that guy is, if only I had been there so I could blow it somehow, that dwarfs that guy. Only an 8 point, but massive.

Here's our set up, it's always the same structure basically and I'm very happy with it.

September Canada Goose: Statewide Sept. 1 – 15
September Teal: Statewide Sept. 9 – 24
North Zone Youth Hunt / Duck / Canada Goose
2017–18 Oct. 14 – 15 / Oct. 21 – Dec. 19 / Oct. 21 – Jan. 18
Central Zone
2017–18 Oct. 21 – 22 / Oct. 28 – Dec. 26 / Oct. 28 – Nov. 5 and Nov. 12 – Jan. 31
South Central Zone
2017–18 Nov. 4 – 5 / Nov. 11 – Jan. 9 / Nov. 11 – Jan. 31
South Zone
2017–18 Nov. 11 – 12 / Nov. 23 – Jan. 21 / Nov. 23 – Jan. 31

I hunt in the north zone a little north of that north duck / central goose zone for the early part of the season and then hunt in the central zone a little south of that area.

We are missing a lot of good early hunting and good late hunting with a good chunk of the season just hoping for weather to push us some birds. Access is a big problem so most either have an early season spot or a late season spot. I now have both. For the early spots it would be a lot better if it were earlier, that's how the powers that be got that gerrymandered north zone duck/central zone goose which screwed a lot of late season north zone spots, but a bunch of connected rich guys have flooded corn in that area that freezes out early. My north zone spot freezes out early and has a lot of wood ducks early. The central zone spot requires everything else be froze to the north and snow is a big boost which may or may not happen before the season ends.

This year the season is as late as it gets because of when the Saturdays in October fell, so I'm excited about the late season. Cold, cold, cold. That's what I need. Although my definition of good and you alls are very very different.

[Rick]

In other news, still no teal in Klondike.

[Darren]

In other news, still no teal in Klondike.

For me to have seen them before you, something's got to be wonky. Its the eclipse! Maybe small front this week will show you a few

[Rick]

Maybe small front this week will show you a few

I'd think that the case, but there's so much freshly flooded stubble around that I couldn't resist taking the Klondike teal tour yesterday. They're going to be happy when they get here, but there will be precious few second crops I'm aware of that won't be too far along to be of great interest to them by the opener - which may be why the marsh has fared better than most ag land in recent seasons. Could quicker varieties or earlier planting have contributed to the ag land habit loss issue in that regard.

Dillon Delaney now has the farm overtaken by duck potato and, subsequently, teal that our guys shot so many on last year, and he says much of it is duck potato again. So that will be interesting to keep an eye on. Hope they do well with it.